X Marks The Spot
by Zacattack551
Summary: How is a 15 year old kid supposed to survive in this harsh world where walkers aren't the only things that are dangerous? Xavier, with his little sister Allyson, search for a place to call home. But when they finally find one, it's already threatened by raiders, walkers, and an old foe?
1. Chapter 1

**The Walking Dead: TellTale Series**

Chapter 1: Arrival

The sun shone high in the afternoon sky, giving light to the forest below. White, puffy clouds floated along in the breeze, making everything seem like a beautiful day, which it was. But on the ground below, was a harsh, hostile world, full of people struggling to survive in these dark times. Dark times, being the dead has started walking. It was surely an apocalypse. Almost everywhere you look; you would always see a stumbling corpse, searching for its next meal of human flesh. If you were lucky, you wouldn't run into one, but that's unlikely. If you were to get bitten by these zombified human beings, you have three options: You turn into a walker, you cut off the appendage where you were bitten, or you kill yourself before you too become a zombie.

Some people are very fortunate, and stay alive to provide for their families, themselves, or anyone who needs it. But in this world where laws are no longer applicable, everyone is a criminal and will stop at nothing to get what they want or need, even if it means taking a life. Children have been stolen, families have been robbed, and resources have been taken just to provide for themselves. A depressing thought, but that is the world Xavier lives in.

A 15 year old kid on his own taking care of his 6 year old sister, with no helps from a responsible adult whatsoever. Not for many years at least. Shifting to a higher gear, Xavier drove an old Cadillac down a road, with trees and nature on every side. His eyes shifted from left to right, as he was scanning for any walkers that were to walk out into the road and collide with the vehicle. Xavier reached for the rear view mirror, and shifted it to reveal his sister sitting in the back of the car, playing with whatever toy they could find.

"Doing alright back there, Allison?" Xavier asked, with eyes on the road.

"Uh-huh." Allison replied, smiling from ear to ear, as she played with her dolls.

Xavier smiled warmly to himself. After everything that has happened over the years with the walking dead and losing their parents, Allison somehow found something to smile about. He didn't know how she did it, but it gave him inspiration to be better. Looking around, Xavier saw what looked to be an establishment, coming up from behind the trees as he drove by.

"Looks like we might be getting some supplies." Xavier said, smirking as he turned down a dirt road towards the small shop.

Allyson cheered in excitement, hoping this would lead to finding more food, ammo, weapons, or supplies of any short. Even at such a young age, she knew how to take care of herself. She could handle a Bowie knife just well and she kept one holstered to her side. Even though this was a dangerous weapon for a child to be holding, Xavier had trained her and trusted her to be responsible for it. Xavier himself wielded a 6 foot retractable Bo staff; a Japanese weapon used for keeping peace but was very effective if used in a fight to defend oneself. Xavier didn't like holding firearms, because he didn't want to teach Allyson how to use one just yet because of her being so young, and because it was such a crude weapon to him, but he carried one anyway just in case.

Pulling the car to a stop, he unlatched his seat belt. Turning towards Allyson, he said, "Hand me my staff."

Allyson reached over to her left side and grabbed a 24 inch black handle, and handed it to her older brother. Xavier nodded in thanks, and opened the door to the car as Allyson did the same. He held his sisters hand, as he walked towards the old, rundown, rotting building. To Xavier's eyes, it looked to be an old general store back in the old days. But based on the spray paintings covering the door, it had apparently been there even before the apocalypse. Gripping his staff in one hand and his sister's hand in the other, he slowly opened the door to the store. Poking his head through the door first, he looked thoroughly around the room for any potential dangers.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he didn't see anything harmful. He entered the building, just as Allyson was pushing her way inside, which wasn't exactly a safe thing to do given that this was a new place. He grabbed her shoulder just before she could get any further. He whipped her around, knelt down to her level looking her straight in the eye.

"Ally, what's the first rule of survival?" He said, in a stern but calm tone.

Ally pondered for a moment, before giving her answer. "Don't eat anything that looks yucky?"

Xavier smiled and rolled his eyes. "That's a good one, but no dice."

Ally thought about it once more but shrugged in defeat.

"First rule is: Don't rush into anywhere new, because…"

Ally finished his sentence. "Because we don't know if there's anything dangerous. Like monsters!"

Xavier smiled and nodded. "That's right."

Xavier rose from his kneeling stance and started the raid. He swept the store shelves for anything that is of use. By the end of the searched, the siblings had discovered bags of chips, a kitchen knife, medical supplies as well as a first aid kit, and bottled waters. Satisfied with their search, he grabbed Allyson's hand once again and headed back to the car. After exiting the building, Xavier stopped short, allowing Allyson to run to the car. Ally turned back around to see her brother standing still in place.

"Bubba, what are you doing? Let's go!" She urged him.

Xavier out his index finger to his lips, motioning for her to stay quiet. He listened once more to the environment. His eyes widened to hear faint voices coming from the far left of them. He reached for his staff, which was clipped to a holster on his belt, and he said to Allyson without speaking, "Get in the car". Ally complied, with a worried expression written on her face. Were the monsters coming? Were bad people coming to take them away? Were they going to die? These are the thoughts that run through her head every time something like this happens. But she quickly shook those thoughts out with a flick of her head; she wouldn't allow herself to succumb to these fears. She had total faith in her brother that he would take care of them. He promised.

Xavier was still outside, listening to the quiet voices that were now getting louder and louder as they drew near. He crept back behind the car, hiding from sight. He peeks out from behind the car and observed as two men, wearing camouflage clothing, walked from out of the forest, rifles at the ready. One of the men looked a bit older than the first, and had battle scars running diagonally across his face. The younger looking one had black paint smeared across his cheeks. Xavier looked inside the back seat window and he motioned for Allyson to get down, so they don't see them. Breathing quite heavily out of anxiety, Xavier crouched down and silently walked a little closer to the two men, as their backs were turned, going to the general store.

"Hey, we're going to take that car that car through, right?" The younger man asked, pointing his thumb behind him towards the Cadillac.

"Oh, for sure." The older man replied. "First things first, we take whatever we can find from that building."

The first man nodded, and continued towards the store. Xavier, who was crouched behind a tree stump, heard everything they said. No way was he about to let them take their only mode of transportation. He started to ponder whether or not he should try and take the two men out. If he did, we could take whatever supplies they had, but the cons were he only had a Bo staff whereas the two men had rifles and could very well shoot him as soon as they made a move. Just then, Xavier's train of thought was interrupted by grass crunching from behind him, followed by an all too familiar groan that sounded like someone was choking up water.

He turned around hesitantly, and his fears were confirmed: a walker about 20 feet away was stumbling around in the shade of the trees, searching for its meal of flesh. He froze, hoping that the walker wouldn't see him. The walking corpse stopped in its tracks, as if something inside of their rotting brain knew there was something to feed on nearby. It turned to look straight into Xavier's eyes with its own glossy, cold eyes. It growled a little louder as it made its way towards the teenage boy. As if Xavier didn't already have enough on his plate, the two men strutted out of the store, looking quite frustrated.

One of the men pointed out to the walker that was already making its way to the hidden kid, and raised their rifles to shoot. Soon, the walker was bleeding out through the bullet-sized hole in its forehead. Xavier, who was relieved to know he wasn't about to get eaten, was now worried, due to the men walking towards the car. Ally could see the two making their way to the Cadillac, and started to wonder where her brother was. Fear stricken in her eyes, she ducked down behind the passenger seat and clutched her knees to her chest, praying that Xavier would save her.

Xavier was fearful as well, knowing that he couldn't fight against two armed men with a 6 foot staff. But he couldn't sit there in hiding any longer. He jumped up from behind the stump, flicking the grip of the staff, unsheathing the full length of it. He let out a battle yell, as he 360 spun the staff above his head and brought down on the oldest man, knocking him to the ground with a thud. Xavier then jabbed his staff to the left, hitting the younger guy in the stomach, causing him to stumble back a few feet. He then did a four-point combo, finishing with a final strike across the man's head, knocking him out cold.

Xavier was at first confused, to see how easily he knocked that man out seeing as he looked like he was in the army, or was going into it. But then he remembered there were two, and spun around quickly to find the barrel of a rifle pointed between his eyes. Xavier gulped, realizing that he probably should've made sure that the oldest man was knocked out. Xavier could feel the man's cold, dead eyes stare into his soul.

"You made a grave mistake." The man said, as he put his index finger on the trigger of the gun.

"Yeah, no kidding." Xavier chuckled, breaking into a cold sweat. Humor has always been Xavier's run-to when things started to get hard, or when he was scared. It made him feel a little better about everything, but he assumed that maybe this wasn't the best time to be making jokes. Xavier's eyes shifted to the car, where he saw his little sister stare at him, fear and adrenaline in her eyes. The man saw his eyes go over to the Cadillac, so he looked there as well. Xavier looked back at the man, who looked dead-straight into the eyes of Allyson. His mouth twisted into a sick smile.

"Well," The man smiled. "Looks like I have something _else_ to bring back to the group."

"_Over my dead body._" Xavier snarled, as knocked the rifle out of its aim, and roundhouse kicked the man, but it only made him stumble back. The man wiped his mouth, removing the blood from his lip caused by the boys attack.

"Is that the best you can do?" The man laughed.

He regained his composure and took aim again. The man pulled the trigger releasing the lead bullet, but it never hit its target, as Xavier cartwheeled to the side. He ran towards the man, launching himself off of a stump, hoping to land a hit. But the man was fast, and kicked Xavier in the chest, knocking him to the ground. He groaned, as tried to get himself back up, but was met with a heavy-duty military boot pushing him back down. Xavier realized his staff wasn't in his hand, and saw it lying in the dirt a ways away from him. He came to the most logical conclusion: He was screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Xavier couldn't see a way out of this predicament. There was a barrel pointed down at his head and his Bo staff was 8 feet away from him. Seeing as how his fate was sealed, he closed his eyes and waited to be sent to heaven. But then he realized, he never went _anywhere_ without his 9mm pistol which he carried with him just in case. While the man was distracted by the sounds of Allyson's faint crying, Xavier slid his hand down his back and grabbed for the handle of his pistol. His eyes glimmered with hope as he pulled it out from behind him, and shot the man in the leg. Blood splattered on Xaviers face as the man fell, grabbing his shin in pain. Xavier kipped up and held his pistol at the man's head, and he kicked the man's rifle out of reach. The man looked up knowing he himself was now screwed; fear and pain rushed into his eyes. But Xavier wouldn't kill. Never a human. All life was precious to him, no matter how bad they were or much he got hurt by them. Instead, he neutralized the man by kicking his head and knocking him out. If the man was lucky, a walker wouldn't find him before he woke up.

Xavier slid the pistol back down his pants, and went to pick up his Bo staff. Retracting the full length of it, he carried it back to the car. Inside the car, Allyson was still in the back seat, crying. Xavier opened the driver side door, and leaned back into the back. Allyson looked up, and saw her older brother was alive and well. She leapt up and put Xavier in an embrace, which he gladly returned.

"Alright, let's get a move on." He said, pulling away from hug. He allowed Allyson to sit in the front seat this time, so she could be closer to the safety of her brother. Backing back out onto the highway, a totaled car that was crashed into a tree caught Xavier's eye. He dismissed it as it had been there since before the dead started walking, and continued down the road. He looked over at Allyson, who was still wiping tears off her eyes. He knew they couldn't stay on the road forever; they need some sort of stability.

Suddenly, a warning light came on the dashboard: Low Fuel. _Oh, crap,_ Xavier thought, and soon the car came to a stop, much to the sibling's dismay. Xavier groaned and slammed his head down on the steering wheel, multiple times. After he calmed down, he and Allyson grabbed as many supplies as they could carry from the car, and continued down the paved road on foot. It wasn't long though, as the sun was setting which would multiply the danger by 10. Xavier looked around to see if he could find any sort of shelter, but as far as the eye could see there were trees upon trees upon trees.

"What are we gonna do?" Allyson said in a small voice.

Xavier sighed. "I don't know, sis. We may have to just camp here for tonight."

"I don't wanna stay here. Monsters will get us, Xavi, I know it!" Allyson exclaimed, as tears started to stream down her face.

"No, no, no, no, no, don't cry! I'll think of something, just gimme a minute."

Xavier wasn't about to stay in a place that made his sister feel unsafe. As bad of times these were, he still was going to try and make it better for her sake and everyone else he came into contact with. Upon searching, he found another dirt road which lead deeper into the forest. He knew that was a probably a bad idea, considering it may be swarming with walkers. But he didn't have much of an alternative that didn't involve Allyson bawling her eyes out, so he grabbed her by the hand and started their trek into the forest.

By now, the sun had already gone down, and night covered the landscape in a thick darkness. There was very little light, except for the occasional moonlight that beamed through the openings that the branches and leaves of the trees didn't cover, which provided just enough light to let the kids keep going. Allyson yawned and started to drift to sleep while walking. Xavier then picked her up and carried her over his shoulder. It was then Xavier realized how tired he was as well, for his eyes grew heavy. He slapped himself across the face before he could fall asleep, and tried to keep going as much as possible.

Then, in the distance, he could see some sort of building; it looked to be at least three stories, and it was surrounded by a fence at least half that high. As he grew closer, he could see a gate as well, but it looked to be pretty worn down, as was the rest of the place. He roused that he and Allyson could stay here at least until morning, after they all had a decent nights rest. He crept through the gate, with his sister still asleep on his back, making his way into the schoolhouse-looking building. Inside the gate, he realized this place was pretty well kept, as there was a fire pit with a cauldron set above it on one side, and there were picnic tables close by. There were small structures that looked like barricades, probably for fighting back the walkers, and up on the steps of the schoolhouse slept a Pitbull. A huge, intimidating Pitbull that looked like it could snap Xavier like a twig if he got caught between its jaws.

Xavier's breath was shaky as he crept as quietly as he could up the steps, past the dog. The dog shifted a little in its sleep, making the teen jump, but it slept soundly. Once he finally got inside, Xavier let out a sigh of relief. Inside, the school house walls were in ruins. Holes, tears in the wallpaper, graffiti, were all over, making this place look like a warzone more than it already did. He walked through the silent halls, looking for a bedroom of some sort or at least a place suitable for sleeping. Soon, he found exactly what he was looking for: two beds on both sides of the room, with a dresser underneath a window in between. It was still dark, and he couldn't see much, but he could see the beds.

He placed Allyson on the bed on the right side of the room, tucked her in, and made his way to the other bed. He pulled back the blankets, and laid down letting the soft, warm embrace of the mattress surround him. He sighed, happily relaxed. But upon spreading out his arms, he collided with a lump on the other side of the bed. He brushed it off with the thought that it was just another pillow or a lump in the mattress, and slowly drifted to sleep.

The next morning, Xavier was awakened by sunlight protruding through the bedroom window and the sound of birds chirping as they flew by. He yawned and looked over at Allyson who was still asleep. Something on the dresser, in between the two beds, caught his eye; an old, ratty-looking baseball cap with the letter, "D", sewed on the front of it, but the "D" was slowly peeling off. _How long has that been there? _Xavier thought, as he turned over to on his other side, to discover two sky blue eyes staring back. A girl, who looked to be Xavier's age, was staring at him with confusion and maybe even fear. She had short, curly brown hair that was pulled into a small bun at the bottom right side of her head.

Xavier didn't know what to do, and from the looks of it, neither did the girl. So he did what he knew how to do at the time. He screamed. Loud. The girl followed in suit, as Xavier quickly rolled out of the bed. Still screaming, he stood up and flipped out his Bo staff, but before he could flick it out to its full length, his legs were grabbed from below the second bed and he went down. While he was down, the girl got up out of bed, or hobbled for she only had one leg, and got on top of his back, holding a knife to his neck, as a young dark-skinned boy crawled out from underneath the bed, straightening his afro out.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?!" The girl growled, pushing the knife into his skin drawing a little blood.

"Chill the hell out!" Xavier exclaimed, staying as still as possible despite the pain in the back of his neck. "I thought this place was abandoned and we needed a place to stay!"

"Wait," the girl said, lifting the knife up. "'We?'"

The girl and the boy got distracted by shuffling sounds coming from the bed, and then Allyson poked her head out from underneath the covers, to discover a teenage girl held a knife and was sitting on top of her brother and a dark-skinned boy held a small pistol, aimed at her head. Then, Allyson burst into tears and started to sob uncontrollably.

"_Awesome, guys. Really awesome…"_ Xavier sighed, sarcastically.

Xavier took this chance to flip up, knocking the girl down, and grabbed his Bo staff. He extended it, and spun it around. The boy took aim at Xavier, but before he could pull down the hammer and pull the trigger, Xavier quickly kicked the gun out of his hand and jabbed the head of the staff into his stomach, sending the boy to the ground next to the girl, clutching his belly in pain. Suddenly, another dark-skinned teen wearing a tan jacket burst into the room.

"What the fuck is going on in he-" The teen was stopped short by the staff being flung into his forehead knocking him out.

Xavier grimaced. He didn't mean to knock him out, it was just a reflex. It happens when you live in a world like this. Turning back to the matter at hand, he grabbed his sister and pulled her to his side. The teenage girl started to slowly get up, which Xavier allowed. Her knife was already on the ground so, he doubted she could do much harm, given that she was basically crippled.

"Will he be alright?" The girl asked, pointing to the unconscious body behind him.

"Uh…" Xavier turned to look behind him "I'm not sure… I didn't mean to hit him that hard; he snuck up on me. I'm sure he'll be fine."

The girl didn't react. She stood there as best she could with her right leg, looking down at the young boy next to her. She looked back up at Xavier. "What do you want?"

Xavier rubbed the back of his head, after sheathing his Bo staff. "Well, the reason I came here in the first place, was because our car ran outta gas and we needed a place to sleep. Here was the nearest place."

"How'd you get past Rosie?" The young boy asked, never taking his eyes off Xavier's weapon.

"You mean that dog?" Xavier replied, throwing his thumb over his shoulder. "I just snuck past her. I swear, it was by the grace of God, she didn't wake up and eat me."

The girl rolled her eyes in response to his statement, and grabbed her crutches that were leaning up against the wall. The young boy picked up the girls knife off of the floor, making Xaviers body tense up, just in case another fight broke out. The girl must've noticed Xavier's body language and said, "Don't worry. If I was going to kill you, you'd already be dead."

Xavier raised a brow in response. He looked over her body, mostly her missing leg. She didn't seem to be in much of a position to be a threat. Maybe she was at one point, but not anymore. She only got the upper hand the first time because, he had gotten tripped by that brat of a brother she has or nephew or cousin or whatever he was to her. He kinda snickered at the thought of the girl, hopping around a battlefield with only a knife for protection. It was kinda pathetic.

"_What's so funny?_" The girl asked, furrowing her brow, as if she knew what he was thinking. Xavier didn't want to start another fight or hurt her feelings so he kept his mouth shut and shook his head.

"Anyways," Xavier started "If you want us to leave, we'll leave. We don't wanna intrude."

"Seems like you've already done _that_._" _The girl replied, sheathing her knife.

Xavier chuckled, nervously. "Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't realize the bed was taken."

"Jesus, will you stop making excuses?" The girl walked past him, to check on the unconscious boy who was still lying on the floor.

Xavier kept his mouth shut once more.

"We're not gonna let you go, with a kid as little as her without at least some food." The girl said, kneeling down to check the older boys pulse.

"Thank you." Allyson said, finally speaking up.

The girl turned to her and smiled warmly, as she stood herself up with her crutches. "Not a problem. We have plenty of leftover stew from yesterday."

Xavier smiled a little. Who knew the girl who he mistakenly slept with would not only offer then some food, but let them leave alive? He followed the girl and the young boy out of the bedroom, with Allyson attached to his leg with an iron grip. The siblings followed the other two through the silent hallways, and out the big wooden doors of the school. Outside, more kids were out walking around either cooking food for the others, like this red-headed overweight girl was doing, or standing guard on the watchtowers posted near the wall.

It wasn't long, before he and Allyson's presences became noticed. Then, it escalated to where everyone now had weapons out and looking like they were ready to pounce on them, making Xaviers hand go to his Bo staff handle.

"Everyone, wait!" Exclaimed the girl. "I'll explain everything in a minute. But first can we at least have some food?"

Then, the group of kids murmured, hesitantly, but complied with the girls command. _Damn, she must be the leader or something, _Xavier thought, and continued to follow the girl to the picnic table, he had seen the night before. After being able to detach his sister from his leg, Xavier sat her down next to him, but she still had a firm grasp on her brother's arm. He watched as the girl conversed with the red-head, probably about whether or not they could stay. _Ah, Xavier, don't get ahead of yourself. You're lucky her kid didn't kill you earlier,_ he thought, shaking the thought out of his mind. The two girls soon joined them at the picnic table, with bowls of what looked to be rabbit stew.

"You're tellin' me, that you woke up in this girl's _bed?" _ The red-head asked Xavier, with her thick southern accent.

Xavier gulped. "Not intentionally. I wasn't paying attention. You got any idea how abandoned this place looks at night time?"

"Next time, y'all check the beds before you decide to go sleepin' in 'em." She replied, slurping down her own bowl of soup. "You coulda gotten yerself killed by our Clementine, here."

Xavier looked at the other girl, who he assumed to be Clementine. He smiled to himself. Clementine. A cute name for someone of her liking.

"AJ!" Clementine called. "Breakfast is here."

The dark-skinned boy soon walked up to his place at the table and started to eat. AJ looked up at Xavier and Allyson, menacingly.

"You better not make any trouble." He said "Because if you do, I'm gonna have to kill you."

Xavier burst into laughter. He couldn't be serious. Sure, he had a gun earlier this morning, but he didn't look like a killer. He wiped his eyes, after calming down

"Wow," Xavier said, chuckling a little. "That's a good joke, little man."

He looked at the two girls, who were not laughing, but instead looked at him with very serious expressions. The smile fell from Xavier's face and he dropped his head to look at his bowl of stew. He guessed he probably shouldn't take serious things like that like a joke. But a kid of AJs age? A killer? It couldn't be. But then again this was basically the apocalypse.

Anything could happen. But right now, it's time to focus on the matter at hand. They didn't seem too eager to have any more people join their group. But he didn't want to keep having to put Allyson through all the stress of being on the road, where the next meal isn't promised. If they stayed here, Allyson could hang out and play with kids her own age, and they could contribute to the group. The only thing he could do now is sit back and see what happens


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After breakfast was done and over with, Xavier decided to burn off the calories with some light Bojitsu training while Clementine and the red-head who he discovered was named, Ruby, talked with a few other kids. Allyson and AJ seemed to have taken a liking to each other and were playing nearby. Xavier found an open space around the school that was somewhat quite. At least quieter than it was in the front. Here, he could the birds chirping and the wind blowing through the trees, creating a calming atmosphere for him to really relax for once and be at peace.

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply in through his nostrils and out through his nose. This is how he prepared to train: focusing on what matters to him the most and using that as energy to help him get better at defending himself and others if needed. He spun his staff around once and held it in a front stance. He pictured his foe in front of him, and jabbed forward. He uppercutted and did a four-point combo. He finished with an overhead combo and a forward slash (**You guys will have to look up these terms**). He smiled to himself, shifting his weight onto his staff.

He thought back to the time when his dad first introduced him to Bojitsu. Back when he was younger and his sister was still an infant,

_Xavier did his best to perfectly spin his wooden bamboo staff to impress his father, who watched him from the porch of the old cabin they were staying in, holding his baby sister in his arms. It was a lot more difficult than his dad made it looked. But as it seemed, no matter how hard Xavier tried he kept messing it up, by either missing the grab or accidentally flinging it in the air. He growled in anger, and threw the staff down in the dirt. He sighed and sat down in the dirt. It was then, that his dad came down from the porch and approached him carrying his baby sister; love and understanding glimmering in his eyes._

"_What's the problem, boy?" He asked, stroking his short black beard._

"_I can't do it, Dad." Xavier replied pulling his knees to his chest. "I keep trying but no matter how I hard I do, I always mess it up."_

_His dad knelt down, and picked up his sons chin. "Don't give up so easily."_

_He picked the staff off the ground, and handed it back to Xavier._

"_You're thinking too much, is your problem." His dad mused. "I don't blame you. With all these walkers roaming around, you're gonna think about protecting your family and people close to you."_

_Xavier turned to his dad with wonder in his eyes. How did his dad know that was EXACTLY his problem? His mind was so overwhelmed at a young age, worrying about his family and about the walkers that pretty much owned the world right now. One slip up could cost him or his dad and sister their lives, and he didn't want to lose them like he lost his mother._

"_I know you're scared about all this." His dad continued. "But remember, making mistakes are part of life. You can't get past them or avoid them. But the way I see it, you can either be afraid of them or learn from them. Making a mistake isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign of you getting stronger; that's why they're there."_

_Xavier nodded in understanding, and stood up ready to try again. "But I still need to get this down." Xavier said. "How do you do it?"_

"_Try focusing on something or someone that matters to you most. Block out everything that makes you feel afraid." His dad replied, walking back to the cabin._

_Xavier did as what was advised to him. He breathed deeply, and thought only about what matters to him, as he slowly spun the staff in a 360. He started going faster and faster and faster until all you could see was a blur. Xavier couldn't believe it. He was doing it! Just like his dad taught him. _

Bringing himself back to reality, Xavier sheathed his staff and went back to the others. By now, the boy who Xavier had knocked out came to, and joined Clementine and Ruby outside. From Xaviers view, it didn't look like that guy was happy. He supposed he wouldn't either if he got knocked out. On the guy's forehead, he had a huge nob on his forehead, caused by Xavier flinging his staff at him this morning. As Xavier grew closer to the Clementine and the others, the guy caught eye of him and he didn't look happy. The guy started to walk up to Xavier, fists clenched when Clementine held him back.

"Louis," Clementine said. "Calm down, it was an accident."

"The hell it was! He threw a stick at me and ruined my beautiful complexion that is my face!"

"A'ight, man, just chill." Xavier said, slowly approaching Louis. "In my defense, you snuck up on me."

"_In my defense,_" Louis mocked "You apparently slept with her! That's not gonna fly, _MAN_."

Xavier face palmed. "I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"

"_Anyways_," Clementine intervened. "You never told us your name."

"Oh," Xavier said "I'm Xavier. Over there's my little sister, Allyson."

Clementine looked over at Allyson, who was still playing with AJ. She smiled. It was nice to see AJ play with someone his own age. He hadn't got to do that since Tennessee died.

"How long have you two been on the road?" She asked.

"A couple days." Xavier replied. "We had some gas cans, they ran out pretty quickly."

Clementine nodded. But Louis wasn't done talking.

"Whoa, whoa, that doesn't mean they can STAY here." Louis spat, waving his arms about. "We got enough mouths to feed, Clem! And they don't look like they can handle themselves either."

"I never made a final decision yet, Louis." Clementine snarled back

"And, I literally knocked you out with one hit with a STICK, dude." Xavier added.

"My point still stands." Louis finished, folding his arms.

Clementine groaned and rubbed her temples. Does he always have to be so ignorant? She hadn't made a final decision yet, not to say she wasn't about to let Xavier leave with a 6 year old girl out into those walker infested forests. She knew she had already made her decision, but Louis did have a point. They only had so much food; barely enough for their group. But she saw how well Xavier handled himself. He could probably hunt for his own food and he could definitely defend himself. She sighed and turned back to them.

"I'm gonna let them stay." Clementine said.

"Of course you are." Louis said, throwing his hands up and walking away.

"Really? Awesome!" Xavier exclaimed, pumping his fists.

"But you have to follow our rules and hunt for your own food." Clementine added, poking Xavier with her crutch.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure we earn our stay."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Over the next couple of days, Xavier kept his word and has been earning his stay by splitting his time with all of the kids who were there. Such as helping Ruby with gardening, building weapons with Willy, and going on hunts with Louis, much to his dismay. He found that he didn't like Louis all that much. He thought he was being a baby about the whole "getting-hit-in-the-head" thing. After all, he _did_ apologize. But Clementine insisted that they at least tried to work together. In the forest, Louis lead the way while Xavier followed close behind, as they made their way to the rabbit traps, and after they'd go down to the stream and check up on Violet, someone else Xavier met.

Xavier ran his fingers through his thick, black hair and breathed heavily through his nose. Of all people he could've been sent with, Clementine made him go with Louis. He was sure he was a cool guy if he got to know him, but he couldn't be bother. He was just doing what had to be done in order for him and Allyson to keep living there.

"Just so we're clear," Louis started, turning his head to look back at Xavier. "Just because we're going on this little field trip doesn't mean we're cool."

Xavier scrunched his face up and threw his hands up in confusion. As if he didn't already know that.

"Yeah, yeah, that's been made _abundantly_ clear."

"And next time, make sure you _check_ the beds, before you get into them." Louis continued, stopping in his tracks and turning to face Xavier.

"Dude, you're still on me about that? Get over it! It. Was. An. Accident. It's not like me and your girlfriend _did_ anything." Xavier said.

"How do _I_ know that? Huh?" Louis replied, turning back around and continuing down the path. "And she's not my girlfriend."

"_You sure fucking act like it."_ Xavier cursed, under his breath.

After the squabble was over, they came across the rabbit traps. They'd gotten lucky today and there was one rabbit in every trap. But after the couple days he had been staying here, Xavier had gotten tired of the same old flavor of rabbit stew. It had grown bland to him. But then he remembered about a big game trap he was told about. After some arguing, Louis agreed to take him to it, so they walked a little deeper into the woods. But as they grew nearer to the tree where the trap was set, the two boys could hear a scary familiar growling sound. They had been both thinking the same thing, for they got out their respective weapons and walked closer.

When they turned the corner of the oak tree, their suspicions were confirmed and there was a live walker hanging upside down by its foot from a rope trap that had been hanging from the tree. The walker must've walked into it.

Louis chucked. "Dumbasses."

Louis walked closer to the hanging walker, and in response the walker growled louder and started to reach for him, hoping that he'd make his fatal and final mistake and land himself in its jaws. Xavier watched as Louis picked up a nearby stick, about the size of a baseball bat, and walked up to the walker.

"What do you think you're doing?" Xavier asked Bo staff ready.

"When they're all hung up like this," Louis replied, arching his arms ready to swing the stick like a bat. "I like to give these dead bastards a little taste of my hatred for them."

And with that, he swung the stick, smacking the walker like a piñata, over and over and over again, until the walkers intestine fell out of its body. But regardless, the walker was still bloodthirsty and ready to kill. Xavier resisted his urge to throw up on the spot, and pulled out a knife. He knelt down and stabbed the walker in the head, finally ending its life. Louis, wearing a smirk on his face, sat the stick down where he found it and walked over to the pile of guts that were strung across the ground.

"Hey, Stick-Boy!" Louis called, pointing down at the intestines. "You want some of this candy?"

Xavier rolled his eyes, sheathed his Bo staff and walked past Louis, saying "Who's the dumbass again?"

At the creek, Violet sat alone on the dock, holding a fishing pole waiting for some unlucky fish to come swimming into the hook. Her short blond hair hung down in front of her incredibly scarred face and eyes. Blinded as she was, she could still do basic tasks such as fishing, as long as someone could lead her to and from the dock. But she now had to rely on her other senses to hone in on any approaching danger, and that was most scary to her. Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming in her direction. She at first thought it was a walker, but the footsteps were too consistent. It was human.

"Hello?" She called out.

"Don't worry, Vi. It's just me and the new guy." A voice said coming out of the forest

Violet breathed a sigh of relief, recognizing the voice of Louis. "You scared the shit outta me."

"Sorry, but also not sorry." Louis replied, in his normal cocky manner. "Any bites yet?"

"No. The fish aren't biting today as it seems." Violet sighed.

"That's fine; we got rabbits on our hunt."

"Ok, that's good. Can you help me back to the school?"

"Say no more."

Louis and Xavier help Violet to her feet, and made their way back to the school. At the school, Ruby was found stirring the cauldron, and she was grateful when Louis and Xavier brought back more food, but also discouraged when it was still rabbits. AJ peeked inside the pot, as Ruby put the freshly skinned rabbits in it. AJ was also disappointed.

"I'm tired of the same old rabbit stew." He said, pouting.

"Me too hon, me too. But we gotta be grateful that we have food at all." Ruby replied, stirring the pot.

AJ nodded, understanding. Xavier looked around the schoolyard, but didn't see his little sister.

"Hey, AJ, you know where Allyson is?" He asked.

"When I saw her, she was going behind the school to find something for us to play with." AJ replied, pointing in the direction.

Xavier thanked AJ and went to go check on Allyson. As we walked down this alley, he realized he hadn't been down here yet; was all still new to him. He continued down the path, where he saw Allyson standing in place, as if she was looking at something. Xavier walked up behind her and knelt down, putting his hands on her shoulder. He was about to ask her what she was looking at before he discovered himself: six gravestones sitting parallel from each other. They were homemade obviously for the crosses were made out of rotting wood planks. They were all labelled as well: Marlon, Mitch, Tennessee, Minnie, Sophie, and Brody.

Xavier covered his mouth at all these gravestones, knowing they had to be kids because of the grave sizes. Except for the final 3, this appeared to be empty because there was no sign of digging. He knew that Allyson knew they were kids too, because she's always been known for her observant nature. He turned her around, to face him.

"They were kids, Xavier." Allyson said, eyes growing wet. "What if that happens to us?"

"It won't happen, Ally. I won't let it happen, I promise." Xavier said, staring deep into her eyes.

Allyson shook her head. "You can't promise that. You can't see into the future. We'll _all_ die someday."

"Maybe, but you're not going to die this early, at this age. Those kids… they were just unlucky. You got me, and I won't let anything get you ok?"

"Ok…" Allyson said, wiping her tears from her face. Giving his sister a bear hug, he let her go to play with her new friend. As she left, he sighed. It was only natural for her to feel this way. After all, both of their parents have died already, so in her mind, what's stopping the same thing from happening to them? His thoughts were interrupted by a voice from behind him.

"You handle her pretty well."

Xavier whipped around, to find Clementine leaning up against the wall. She hobbled over to Xavier, who loosened his grip on his staff.

"Yeah, I guess so." Xavier said, relaxing his stature a bit. "How long were you over there?"

"Long enough." Clementine replied, glancing at the graves. "They scared her, didn't they?"

Xavier turned back around, looking at the headstones. "Yeah, a little. She was afraid that it would happen to her."

"I don't blame her. They were all just kids like us when they died."

"How'd they die?"

"Well, Sophie was killed by her sister, Minerva, Minnie for short. Minnie got bit by walkers and went crazy before she fully turned. She tried to get her younger brother, Tennessee, to let her kill him so they could be together."

Xavier grimaced at that sick image. What kind of sibling would want to kill their sister and then try to convince their brother to let them kill him? It sickened him. "It apparently worked." He said

"Yeah…" Turning her attention to the other headstones she continued. "Marlon was the leader before me and AJ showed up. He wasn't a very good one though. He sold Minerva and Sophie to raiders so they wouldn't bother him. He was shot in the head, before he could do any kind of reconciliation."

"Who killed him?"

Clementine paused. She was hesitant in telling him that an 8 year old was the one who put a bullet in Marlon's head. Especially since it was the one who was currently playing with Allyson. Before she could reply, Xavier said, "Hey, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, so don't feel pressured."

Clementine smiled at Xavier's courteousness. "Thank you. I'll tell you at some point. Just not right now."

Xavier nodded. "I understand, it's cool. So anyways, what happened to Mitch?"

"There was another raid on the school. He was trying to fight the leader off, who I knew personally at one point, but she overpowered him and stabbed him in the head."

Xavier's mouth slowly gaped open. How could a grown woman do that to a kid? He shook his head in sadness. He didn't understand how everything went downhill in just one day. And as it seems, it's just getting worse and worse.

"And Brody…" Clementine continued looking down in sorrow. "Poor Brody… She was killed by Marlon. She knew what he'd done and she threatened to tell us all, so he killed her… But he didn't rupture her brain, so she turned. I was able to kill her. It was hard. She was my friend."

Xavier looked at Clementine, with sympathy in his eyes. She had no idea how much he understood her pain. Suddenly, before anyone knew it, Xavier had wrapped Clementine in a hug. It surprised the hell out of Clementine, but she gladly accepted it and returned it as best she could. They hugged for a few more minutes, before Xavier let go, lightly blushing.

"Sorry about that." He said, looking to the side, rubbing the back of his head. "I know you barely know me, but I just thought you could use one."

"It's okay." Clementine replied, smiling a little. "I did. Thank you, Xavier."

"No problem, Clementine. Anytime."

Xavier gathered himself and proceeded to exit the backyard, but before he could, Clementine called to him.

"Hey, Xavier!" She yelled.

"Yeah?" He answered, looking back at her.

"You can call me Clem. If you want, anyway."

Xavier smiled brightly. "Alright, Clem."

And with that, he continued on his way. Clementine, who was still gathering herself in the back, thought deeply. When Xavier hugged her, she felt something. Not just an emotion, but a sort of vibe, that she never felt that with anyone. Somehow she knew that there was something about Xavier that was special. She didn't know exactly _what_ but there was. She took a deep breath, and went back inside the school house.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It started to get later in the evening, but Xavier wasn't tired. He laid in his own bed in one of the spare rooms the school had. As he lay there, he looked over to the second bed in the room, and saw Allyson was still sleeping soundly. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. He walked outside and he discovered Clementine, Louis, and AJ looking over one of the picnic tables. He walked over to them, curiously, and found they were looking over a map.

"That's where Aasim saw them." Louis said, pointing at the map. "He was ranging out far past the traps just here."

Clementine looked at Louis. "I want you to go."

"You're the boss." Louis chuckled.

"We need to know who they are." Clementine continued. "Maybe even see if they're willing to trade. Just keep your distance until you can make a call."

"Who _who_ are?" Xavier interjected.

Clementine and Louis looked at each other, wondering if they should tell him. Louis was shaking his head, but Clementine turned back to Xavier.

"A group of survivors, out beyond the old safe zone." She told Xavier. "Some kind of caravan."

"Are they bad people?" AJ asked.

Louis knelt down next to AJ, completely ignoring Xavier who was standing right there. "You wanna come with me in the morning and find out? I could definitely use the backup."

"No arguments there." Clementine commented.

"Hey!"

AJ pondered for a moment. Why did Clementine trust Louis with a mission while Xavier is much more capable of fighting if the time called for it?

"Louis, huh?" AJ said, folding his arms. "Hmm, sounds kinda dangerous for… well."

"That sounds like another vote for you to come along and watch my back." Louis replied, smiling.

"Uh, dude, he's a kid." Xavier said. "He can barely watch his _own_ back."

"Shut up, man." Louis said.

"It'd make me feel a lot better if you _and_ Xavier went." Clementine interjected.

"What?! Why this guy? All he can do is a few flips and tricks with a 5 foot stick." Louis complained

"6 foot stick, thank you very much." Xavier corrected. "And I can do a _lot_ more than just some 'flips and tricks.' Hell, I put you down with it the other day, who are you to be making assumptions?"

"Can you two just not for once?" Clementine said, placing her hand on her head and turning back to AJ. "AJ, will you please go with these two? For my sake?"

AJ shook his head and smiled. "_SOMEONE_ has to watch them."

"We are literally right here, dude." Louis said, exasperated.

"_Don't sleep in_." AJ ordered.

Xavier, Louis, and Clementine looked at each other, slightly surprised at the 8 year olds authoritative manner. With that, Louis walked off with Xavier, leaving Clementine and AJ. Suddenly, Clementine grunted in pain, alerting AJ.

"You okay?" He asked, nervously.

"Just… just getting tired." She said, brushing it off. "Hey, walk with me a sec."

AJ followed Clementine to the front steps. It took her a while to get up but once she did, she set her crutches down, and motioned for AJ to sit with her. AJ sat down, smiling at his motherly figure that Clementine was to him, but his eyes trailed down to Clementines left leg, which was cut off below the knee. He had to cut it off back in that old barn, when they were surrounded by walkers, because she had gotten bitten. He was happy that he did, but he still felt guilty. Clementine noticed AJs eyes looking at her leg.

"Caught ya'." She said, playfully.

"Uh, sorry." He said quickly, looking away.

"It's okay. I stare at it, too." She laughed. She looked off into the distance. "If it was just me and you alone out there and I was like this? I don't think I'd make it two weeks."

She looked over at her crutches. "I'm gonna need these to go anywhere. And if we ever had to run..."

She trailed off. She was definitely scared that she'd a burden on the group because of her being a cripple. AJ knew this and thought hard of a solution. Then it came to him.

"It's okay!" He said, hopefully. "I'll make you a new foot."

"Oh, yeah?" She said looking back at him, smirking at his attempt to make her feel better.

"There must be a foot making book somewhere." He continued. "I'll ask Willy."

"Okay! Find me the foot book." She said, still smiling at him. It made her happy that he'd go to such great lengths to make her feel better about herself. She looked at all that was before her, watching the other kids play tag and seeing her friends sit together at the tables conversing among themselves.

"All this. It's worth it." She said, peacefully. "All those times you would ask me if we'd find a home… all I could ever tell was, 'We'll see.' And your face would fall every single time…"

AJ looked down. "It's better than saying 'Yes' and lying to me."

"That's what I told myself." Clementine continued, voice starting to shake. "But you wanna know something I _didn't_ tell you? I never had a plan. I never knew where were going. I never knew _anything_. I just fought and fought and fought and hoped you didn't notice… Hoped we'd find something before you did."

She looked at AJ, eyes starting to well up with tears. "Did I do a good job?"

AJ looked at her confused. Not because this was the first time he'd ever seen Clementine cry, but because she was questioning herself as a good role model. A good parent. Was she serious? Of course she did a good job!

"Of course you did!" AJ exclaimed. "What are you… are you crazy?"

Clementines smiled as her eyes lit up. "Maybe a little." She chuckled, wiping away her tears.

"A _LOT_ more than a little." AJ laughed, playfully.

Clementine smiled brightly, but she quickly grew stern. "In the barn, you didn't listen to me." She said, remembering back to when she told AJ to leave her to become a walker. At the time, she didn't want to put AJ through the trauma of killing the only thing he considered his mother.

"And if you had," She continued. "I'd be dead. I was right to trust you. To make the hard calls even when I couldn't."

She looked at her missing leg. "You'll have to be strong for the both of us."

"You made it so I can." AJ replied, eyes written with seriousness. "So thank you… for everything."

AJ never ceased to surprise Clementine with his matureness. "You're welcome… for everything."

And with that, the two looked around at the place they could finally call home. Clementine was happier than she had ever been, knowing she had found a place AJ could grow up in. And with Xavier and Allyson joining the picture, AJ could have friends his own age again. Even though Xavier and Allyson had only joined the group for a few days, she was grateful for them. She closed her eyes and sighed. The thing she was most grateful, was her group and her family.

"But, bubba, why can't I go?" Allyson complained the next day, as she watched Xavier equip all his weapons, and a satchel he had found.

"Because, we have no idea who these people are." Xavier replied. "And the last thing I need, is you getting taken or hurt, sis."

"But AJ's going…" She pouted, folding her arms.

"Yeah, I don't know what's going on with that." Xavier said, rubbing the back of his head. "Clem told him he could go, so he's going. But I'm telling you, you can't."

Allyson threw herself onto her bed and whined as Xavier quickly exited the room. On his way outside, he found Louis and AJ, all equipped with backpacks and weapons, making their way out too. He joined the two, and walked outside to the front gates, where they met Clementine who was going to see them off. With some quick words of warning, she watched as her two friends and her son-like kid walk into the forest. She took a deep breath and prayed that they'd come back safely and with new supplies.

In the forest, Louis and AJ took the lead, as Xavier followed close behind. He patted the back of his waist, to check and see if he remembered to bring his main weapon with him. He sighed in relief after discovering that his Bo staff was holstered to his waist, where he could easily reach behind him and sling it out to full length, providing there was danger following. AJ looked behind him, making sure the new kid was still behind him. He never liked it when people snuck up behind him, let alone having someone follow behind him.

"Hey, new kid." AJ called, referring to Xavier.

"It's Xavier. And what's up?" Xavier replied, arms crossed.

"Why are you back there? You _should_ be up here."

Xavier shrugged. He didn't know why he was falling behind. Maybe probably to avoid conflict with Louis, most likely.

"I don't like when people are following behind me." AJ said, brows furrowing. "Will you come up here?"

Xavier nodded, and jogged up to the two, making AJ feel a lot better. Louis studied the map and found that they were nearing the edge of the safe zone. They crossed the invisible line, separating their safe zone and the outside world. They continued down a beaten path that had grown over a little, given that no one had walked on it for a long time.

"How much further?" AJ asked, his legs growing tired.

"It should be just past those trees." Louis said, not taking his eyes off the map. "Aasim said that there was a clearing up ahead. That should be where the caravan is."

"Did Aasim say what there was to trade?" Xavier asked, breaking his silence.

"He didn't get close enough to see. We don't know if these guys are friendly or not." Louis replied.

Xavier nodded, in understanding. But Louis' statement raised some questions in Xaviers mind. If we don't know if these survivors are friendlies, then why bring an 8 year old with us? Then again, Xavier knew that it was pretty obvious that AJ could take care of himself, given he has his own gun and everything, but even still he wasn't sure he's actually _used_ it before. Allyson has her own weapon as well, but she hasn't been trained to use it. Xavier figured that he probably should do that before long, just in case anything ever happened to him. He'd rather not think about though for the time being.

Just as Louis said, they arrived at a clearing beyond the trees. But unfortunately, there was no sign of a caravan or human life in the vicinity. Louis, AJ, and Xavier were completely taken aback.

"This doesn't make any sense." Louis said, looking back at the map, trying to figure out if they were in the correct area. "Aasim specifically told me that this was the place where he saw the people."

"Maybe he lied." Xavier offered, as he looked over Louis' shoulder.

Louis rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Literally, no one with half a brain would lie about seeing people with useful items that could potentially benefit our group. I know Aasim. He wouldn't lie about this; he's not that kinda person."

Xavier shrugged and nodded. He walked past AJ and Louis and proceeded to the middle of the clearing. He crouched down and studied at the ground, searching for any signs of anyone ever being there. And as he looked, he discovered something: footprints, but they were faint. You would have to get close to get a good eye on them. Based on how many of them there were, Xavier assumed that there was more than one person here at one time.

But he suddenly found that 6 set of footprints that spread out into several different locations; all into different places back into the forest. He stood up looking all around him; his nerves shot from anxiety. He figured out what this was: an ambush.

Before he could yell out to Louis and AJ to run, several people in ghillie suits emerged from the bushes and rushed out, guns blazing. They pushed Louis and AJ into the middle of the clearing with Xavier, and the trio put their hands up, in a form of surrender. Once again, only one thought ran through Xavier's mind and he was sure that Louis and AJ were thinking the same thing: They were screwed.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Louis, Xavier, and AJ broke out into a cold sweat, as one of the men in ghillie suits started to approach them. Xavier thought about reaching for his weapon, but then again there were people surround them, all with guns pointed at them, so he had a better chance of getting a bullet through his head. The man took off his mask, revealing a heavily scarred face. He squinted his eyes at them, almost surprised to see them.

"Drop your weapons." He ordered the trio. "NOW!"

AJ stared at him, rebelliously. No one was going to separate him from his gun, not even this prick. But Xavier nudged him with his knee, and AJ gave in, dropping his tiny revolver. Louis and Xavier followed in suit, dropping their weapons in front of them. A few of camouflaged men came in and took their weapons, leaving the kids defenseless. Xavier didn't like being without his staff. It was the last thing his father gave to him.

"How did you know we were coming?" AJ asked, realizing that they must've been tipped off by someone of their coming there.

"A guy of ours saw your little friend, and reported back to the group; thought you'd be coming back." The man said, lowering his gun just a little.

"Dammit, Aasim…" Louis groaned.

"Why did you kids come here anyway?" The man asked. "You can't take on a few veterans let alone an army."

"We were looking for food." Xavier explained. "And/or supplies. Hoping we could strike up a trade or something."

The man thought about the possibility of a trade. But what could three kids possibly have that useful to trade with? Then, he noticed Xavier satchel that was still slung around his back.

"Give me that purse." He ordered, stretching out his hand.

Xavier took the satchel off this shoulder, and threw it over to him. "It's a satchel." He corrected.

The man grinned, and ripped open the satchel, revealing food, supplies, an even some ammunition. He stuffed the contents of the bag and shoved them into his belt pouches. He threw the satchel back to Xavier.

"Go home, kids." He said, smiling from ear to ear. "You're free to go."

He sent a hand signal back to his squad and the camouflaged men took off into the woods. Xavier sighed in relief but shortly realized that those guys took their weapons. All of them.  
"Oh, fuck." Louis cursed, throwing his head into his hands.

"I need my gun back!" AJ exclaimed. "If we come back without our weapons or supplies, Clem won't be happy."

"There's nothing we can do about it now. They have guns! Big, automatic guns! We're fucked!"

"Hey!" Xavier yelled, quieting Louis and AJ. "Calm your tits! We just have to follow them and get our stuff back."

"Oh, yeah. Because it's _completely _that easy and simple." Louis replied, sarcastically. "Did you not see their guns?"

"They were AK-47s." Xavier said, matter-of-factly. "I'm aware of what they are and what they can do. But I'm not gonna let a few big guys with big guns push us around. I'm not afraid. And I'm _NOT_ going back to that school without my staff."

AJ was taken aback by Xavier's fearless manner. Even he knew that going into a camp full of people with those kinds of guns was suicide, yet Xavier didn't seem to be fazed by it.

"You can go ahead and go." Louis walked up to him. "But I plan on staying alive! If you make it back to the school with our shit, then kudos to you. But I'm not going."

"Fine, I'll go then. Tell the others what happened and where I'm going." Xavier said, as he started to walk in the direction of the men, leaving Louis' mouth agape.

AJ looked up at Louis, expectantly. Louis met the young boy's eyes, and he didn't like what they were telling him. Louis gave him a look that said, "You gotta be kidding me" but Louis sighed shook his head. How does someone like AJ always make him feel bad?

"Go back to the school and tell Clem what's going on." Louis commanded, and reluctantly took off after Xavier. How did AJ get him to do this?

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It started to get dark out, and Louis did not like being out in the open where walkers could come up on him at any angle, and to make matters worse he didn't have a weapon. There was nothing he could use out in the forest. Maybe a few sticks and stones but nothing that could kill a walker. As he continued through the dark forest, he started to hear noises. Not only walker noises, but more like live human being noises, such as talking and singing. He light flickering beyond the trees which he guessed was fire. By the sound of them, there were a lot of people which was to be expected, after all, they're about to infiltrate what looks to be a small military camp.

_Damn, Xavier, _Louis thought as he started to get to the edge of the trees. Why did he have to be so reckless and stupid? He literally ran out into the middle of the woods with no weapon to speak of, making him the most vulnerable to walker attacks or any attacks. If it wasn't for Clementine, he would've had Xavier and Allyson out a long time ago. But now that he thought about it, he hated himself for saying that. That was the exact same thing they did to Clementine and AJ when AJ killed Marlon. To add to his self-hate, Allyson had no experience whatsoever on how to fight and protect herself, so sending her out there would be sending her to her death basically, even with Xavier. The guy only had a stick to defend himself for Christ sake!

His thoughts were interrupted when he realized he was getting to close and could hear the men very well. He looked around for any signs of Xavier but didn't see anything anywhere. _They must've caught him. Poor bastard,_ he thought to himself when suddenly, two hands came out from behind him and grabbed his torso and covered his mouth. He kicked and tried to scream but nothing came out. Was this how he died? By the hands of some lucky walker? Suddenly, what he thought was a walker spoke.

"If you make any noise, you're gonna alert them of our presence, idiot."

Louis whipped around and saw Xavier holding his index finger up to his mouth, motioning for him to be quiet. Louis was angry at him, but at the same time he was glad it was just him. He followed Xavier over to a bush, where they could easily see the camp. There were tents pitched up around the back, and in the middle was a big campfire. In the space in between the fire and the tents, there were tables and shelves of what looked to be food, weapons, ammo, supplies, everything they could ever need. Louis grinned happily when he saw all their weapons lined up on the table.

"So what's the plan?" Louis asked, anxiously. "Assuming you have a plan, of course."

"I have a plan." Xavier remarked back. "Or part of one at least. I don't know, it's a fifty-fifty chance of success."

Louis rolled his eyes. "_Everything_ is a fifty-fifty chance, dude." He scoffed. "Just tell me what you're thinking and we'll see if we can put it into action."

Xavier looked back at the camp, and started to scan the area. He could count two guards sitting at the fire, one guard looking over the tables and shelves, and three guards scanning the outer perimeter. He quickly devised a plan.

"Okay, so here's what I'm thinking: There are three guards with weapons on the outer perimeter and right now they're on the far side of the camp and shouldn't be rounding for about maybe ten minutes, so if we move in quick we should be able to get our stuff and maybe something extra. There are two more sitting right there by the fire, but if we cause some sort of distraction, we might be able to draw them away."

Louis nodded in understanding. A pretty solid plan so far. "Okay, but what about that one guy by the stands?" Louis asked.

Xavier shrugged. "I think we could take him." He said, casually. "He's only one guy and he's not that big. If we could get up behind him without anyone seeing, we can nail his ass."

"Sure, right, and with what weapon exactly?" Louis asked, almost hoping that Xavier would reply with him showing a 9 millimeter. But the chances of that happening are slim.

Xavier got up and looked behind him at the large silhouettes in the shape of trees behind him. He looked up at the branches and saw one that he liked. He jumped up and grabbed it, breaking it off with a barely noticeable _snap_. He walked back to Louis, who had a curious expression written on his face. But then it came to him.

"You don't seriously plan on using that to knock out that dude, are you?" He asked.

"You got a better idea?" Xavier said, looking at him, half expecting Louis to chime in with his solution but nothing came out of his big mouth.

"So what do we do to distract those two guys, by the campfire?" Louis questioned, pointing at them.

"One of us will cause a distraction, and make them come away from the fire. Then the other will sneak up behind the guy by the stand and take them out."

"Okay, that's not the _WORST_ plan I've ever heard. But who's gonna do the distracting?"

Xavier stared at him straight in the eye, as if he expected Louis to read his mind. Apparently, dark-skinned teen got whatever psychic message Xavier was trying to get to him, because Louis wasn't having it.

"Oh, there's no way in hell I'm going out there, in the dark, _alone_!" He exclaimed, quietly. "I don't have weapons, genius."

"Look around you." Xavier said, waving his arms to their surroundings. "Anything can be a weapon if need be. The only thing you need to worry about is figuring out how to use it."

"Besides," Xavier continued. "It'll be quick: in and out. Five minutes tops. Think you can survive that long without me, Louis?"

Louis scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I've been doing just fine without you for years. I can take care of myself."

"I hope so," Xavier said, standing up slightly. "Because those three guards are rounding back around. We got ten minutes to get our stuff and get out. Remember, no one has to get hurt."

And with that, the two boys out their plan into action. Louis circled behind a tree, and found a small stone lying next to it. He smirked as he picked it up and threw it at another tree, over by the two guards by the campfire. A loud "clunk" sound echoed off the tree trunk, alerting the guards just as planned. The two got up, grabbed their guns, and headed to find where the noise was. As soon as Xavier saw them leave, he knew that that was his cue to get in. He quietly crept into the camp, hiding in the shadows of the tents pitched up nearby. He could see the guard by the stand turn around, looking at the forest, almost as if he knew that something was up.

Xavier thought fast, and grabbed a small pebble and threw it across the camp. The guard saw this and turned around, putting his back towards Xavier. This was his chance, and he took it. He sprinted up behind him, and leapt up, lifting the branch over his head and bringing it down on the unsuspecting guard. He smiled to himself knowing that everything was going as planned. Leaving the unconscious guard on the ground, he turned to the stand and grinned from ear to ear when he saw his precious Bo staff. He threw the branch he had away and picked up his own weapon. Clipping it to his waist holster, he picked up all the supplies he had brought, placed them inside his satchel. He got Louis' and AJs weapons as well. He still had some time, so he looked over the caravans supplies, and he saw something that he liked.

"Xavier, we gotta go!" Louis exclaimed, as he ran out of the woods. "They're coming back! Did you get our stuff?"

"Yeah, we can go." Xavier replied, grabbing the thing that caught his eye and some batteries.

But as they turned around, they could hear multiple footsteps coming up and fast. It wasn't long before the guards circled back around to the front of the camp, and saw the two teen boy's running back into the woods. Yelling and shouting, they pursuit the kids; as they ran away, Xavier gave Louis his and AJs weapon.

"We're gonna lead them _straight_ to the school!" Louis pointed out. "We have to lose them!"

"I know, I know." Xavier said his mind racing for a solution. "Maybe we can lead them to walkers? Did you see any on your way out here?"

"I only heard some, but those douches have big-ass guns – they'll make easy work of them."

_SHIT_, Xavier cursed under his breath. Louis was right – they couldn't lead them back to the school and they can't lead them into some walkers so their choices were rather limited. He came to the conclusion they were going to have to fight their way out. He knew they were most likely going to have their guts pumped full of lead, but at least they wouldn't find their sanctuary.

Suddenly, Louis and Xavier heard a terrifying shriek in the night, which obviously shook they armed men behind them as well. Following the blood-curling scream, were rocks being thrown from the trees above them, all hitting the men. They started firing their guns wildly, hoping they would hit something, but surprisingly they didn't. Then, the rocks started to get larger and heavier as they fell and they caused the men to turn back. Sighing in relief, Louis and Xavier sheathed their weapons and watched as their friends slide down the tree trunks.

Louis laughed as Willy slid down, a huge toothy grin plastered on his face.

"Willy, you son of a bitch!" Louis laughed as he gave him a high-five.

"AJ let us know what happened." Willy replied. "If it wasn't for me, you guys would be so full of holes you'd be whistling like that one episode of Spongebob!"

"Thanks for the help." Xavier congratulated. "We got some pretty cool stuff."

"Well, let's go back and check it out." Willy said, as they made their way back to the school.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Hey, guys. Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I've just been really busy with my personal life as well as school. And on top of that, I have a few more fanfictions I want to work on and show you guys and I just haven't been motivated to write this story in general. But I don't believe you will have to worry about me quitting this story; I don't want this to be one of the many stories I've started and never finished. But it's definitely hard to find inspiration, so it'll probably be a while before the next chapter. I'll be sure to keep you updated. **

**Thanks for your patience,**

**-Zacattack551**


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